Artificial fibre as well as an artificial lawn for sports fields provided with such fibre

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for producing a foil of synthetic material composed of a first synthetic compound and a second synthetic compound, in which the first synthetic compound consists of a polymer and the second synthetic compound consists of a plastomer. The invention also relates to a synthetic fibre and to an artificial lawn suitable for sports fields, consisting of a substrate to which synthetic fibres according to the invention are fixed. Surprisingly, it has become apparent that when the fibres are according to the invention made from a combination of synthetic materials in which the first synthetic compound is a polymer and the second synthetic compound is a plastomer, the fibres will only exhibit a very minor any tendency to split, or even no such tendency at all, not even after stretching, also in the case of very intensive use in an artificial lawn. This renders the fibre very suitable for use in an artificial grass sports field, so that the field will not only require less maintenance but, in addition, will be capable of withstanding longer and more intensive use. Since the synthetic fibre—in addition to an improved splitting behaviour—exhibits strongly improved elastic and springing properties, the risk of injury and/or burns caused by slidings or falls is significantly reduced.

What is claimed is:  
     
       1. A synthetic fibre comprising a mixture of a first synthetic compound and a second synthetic compound, wherein said first synthetic compound is a polymer, said second synthetic compound is a plastomer, and the proportion of the plastomer in the fibre is 30-80 wt. %. 
     
     
       2. The synthetic fibre according to  claim 1 , wherein the proportion of the plastomer in the fibre is 35-50 wt. %. 
     
     
       3. The synthetic fibre according to  claim 1 , wherein the polymer is polypropylene or polyethylene, and in particular low-density polyethylene, high-density polyethylene, homo-polymer polypropylene or copolymer polypropylene. 
     
     
       4. The synthetic fibre according to  claim 1 , wherein said plastomer is a copolymer of ethene, with one or more α-olefins having 3-10 C-atoms, in particular propene, isobutene, 1-butene, 1-hexene, 4-methyl-1-pentene and 1-octene as the comonomer. 
     
     
       5. The synthetic fibre according to  claim 4 , wherein the proportion of comonomer ranges between 0 and 50 wt. %. 
     
     
       6. The synthetic fibre according to  claim 4 , wherein the density of the plastomer ranges between 860 and 970 kg/m 3 . 
     
     
       7. The synthetic fibre according to  claim 1 , wherein the polymer is polyethylene. 
     
     
       8. The synthetic fibre according to  claim 1 , wherein the plastomer is a copolymer of ethene, with 1-octene as the comonomer. 
     
     
       9. The synthetic fibre according to  claim 4 , wherein the proportion of comonomer ranges between 5 and 35 wt. %. 
     
     
       10. The synthetic fibre according to  claim 1 , wherein said fibre is an extruded fibre.